THE NEXT EVENT - by Kolyaaa!

CHAPTER SIX: THE SALVE

A/N: Your feedback has been refreshing and good. You should all give me more. I appreciate the poetry and the alliteration. It proves that people who read my stories are of a higher order of intelligence. You should join the Genii. Can any of you fight with sticks?

A/N: The chicken is still in the box. I have poked holes in the box and have pushed some corn in there. Peggy pecked me a couple times when I tried to hand feed her so there will be no more of that. If she thinks she's clever, she's only making me angrier and hungrier for fried chicken. Leave me reviews or the chicken is going into the Fry Daddy!

A/N: Something is in the ventilation system. I thought it was the lizard, but Sydney is now living in my coffee pot. I heard something slithering over my head a moment ago. It gave me the heebie jeebies! Read this story and make me happy by leaving many reviews.

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McKay paced outside the tent, rubbing his hands together feverishly, ignoring the looks he was getting from the festival-goers. Sheppard and Beckett were inside, tending to Teyla, while he and Ronon were outside, waiting to hear.

How the hell could this have happened?

If Sheppard hadn't asked him to leave the tent, so he and Ronon could talk, McKay would never have seen the fight...would never have seen Teyla defeating Ronon's sister in a blur of masterful skill...right up until the Satedan woman had cheated.

And the crowd had cheered when it happened! They had CHEERED! What sort of people cheered on the beating to death of another person?

Bile rose in his throat as the scene ran through his mind for what felt like the hundredth time...

Still annoyed at having nearly been strangled, and painfully aware of the dark looks he was getting from the crowd now because he was a "fake," he had pushed his way through the people in a half-hearted attempt to find Teyla. Not that he wanted to find her if she was still with that Amazon woman, but being alone on a strange planet where the half the population looked ready to knock him down was not his idea of fun.

It was the sound of the stick fighting that had turned him in the direction of where the largest crowd had gathered. He'd come across the bright idea that she might have been attracted to the familiar noise. After all, it was her favorite sport. So, he'd wandered over...and pushed through the crowd when he recognized the golden hair of Nonor in the middle of the ring, the Satedan woman taller than most of the crowd.

As he reached the fence, he grinned. Teyla was whipping the snot out of the taller woman—a one-Athosian wrecking crew. The sticks in her hands flew with a speed the other woman couldn't match, hitting and smacking and biting and whipping, and it was easy to see the astonished look on Nonor's face as she was forced back towards the rope fence. Teyla looked driven, relentless, and Rodney could see why. There was blood on her face, and he recognized that she wasn't moving as fluidly as she normally did—Nonor must have done her some serious damage before Teyla decided to go to town. This wasn't a friendly fight—Teyla looked like she was fighting for her life.

He cheered when Nonor hit the rope fence with her back, barely deflecting half the blows rained on her...then, before he even had a chance to see how, Nonor had grabbed a large red and white flag and trapped one of Teyla's sticks...and then her head.

"NO!" he'd shouted, "No! That's cheating! Stop!" But his words were drowned out by the cheering around him, as the Satedan people cheered on one of their own.

Nonor was already taking advantage of her treachery, beating down on Teyla as the Athosian vainly tried to escape the heavy fabric, her struggling movements growing increasingly slower.

"STOP!" McKay didn't even think, jumping over the fence and running for the two combatants. He heard yelling behind him, but he wasn't sure who it was for. Probably him, but he didn't care. He tapped the radio on his head, "SHEPPARD! I NEED YOU! TEYLA'S DOWN!"

And then he was by her side, shoving Nonor back, paying no attention to the look on the other woman's face as he worked feverishly to get the tightly wrapped red and white flag off of Teyla, to get her out of there. When Nonor tried to step in again, he raged up, shoving her back with a force that actually sent the taller woman stumbling to the ground and pointing his gun at her head. He didn't even realize he'd drawn it.

"You get the hell out of here! You come near her again, and I will kill you!" he yelled, still holding the weapon on her. When Nonor made no attempt to move again, he quickly put the gun away and returned to Teyla.

He was still unwrapping her, peeling fabric away from bleeding wounds, when he felt Sheppard at his side, helping. Then Sheppard was gone, racing back to the gate to get Beckett, and he was sitting at Teyla's side as Ronon stood over them, the warrior obviously frozen in shock. And Nonor had disappeared, lost in the crowd.

After that, everything had become a blur - someone supplied a backboard and Teyla was carried into the shelter of the tent, that much he knew, and he tried to keep hold of her hand the whole time, even when she was unconscious, afraid to let go. Then, Beckett had arrived with Sheppard and ordered him and Ronon to leave the tent.

He stopped his pacing, wiping a hand down his sweating face, looking towards the closed tent flap, wishing he was in there...and thankful he wasn't. Teyla's face had been badly beaten, blood and bruises covering most of the side of her face and down her neck. Her arm had been at a sickly looking angle, and her torn purple top had revealed a flaming red bruise covering most of her ribs, abdomen and back, a bruise that was rapidly turning the darkest and ugliest shade of blue-black he had ever seen. And nothing he did seemed to help ease her pain.

He wasn't a fool.

He looked up when he heard desperate whispering, and turned to see Nonor talking with her brother a few yards away. Nonor wore her share of bruises, up and down her arms, along with a nice number of cuts where the skin had broken under Teyla's onslaught. Her tawny hair was gathered up on her head, around which it looked like a laurel wreath had been placed. She was talking rapidly, her eyes wide and worried, pointing every so often at the tent and at McKay and then at herself.

Ronon, for his part, simply listened, his arms crossed. His expression was shuttered, unreadable.

Finally, Nonor backed off, her bottom lip trembling a little, and McKay watched as a tear tracked down her lovely, dirty face.

How could something so beautiful be so deadly?

Ronon said something finally, and Nonor nodded, backing up and wiping at her face to get rid of the tear. She glanced once more at McKay, her expression showing a level of confusion, and then she turned and limped off, headed somewhere.

McKay's jaw set, his barely quelled anger rising once more to the surface. She had almost killed Teyla! Hell, for all they knew, she had! And, what? She was going to get away with it?

He made a move to go after her, so angry he could spit, but a heavy hand slapped against his chest, stopping him.

"Let me go," he hissed, glaring up at the Satedan.

"She said you pulled a gun on her," Ronon growled, pressing a little harder. "Said she thought you were going to kill her, but Sheppard stopped you."

"What?" McKay was flabbergasted. "I...what?"

"How could you?" Ronon spat, shoving McKay hard, sending him back a few steps.

"How...she...No! Damn it! She was trying to kill Teyla! I stopped her!"

"She wasn't trying to kill her."

"Oh, no, you're right," McKay snapped back, his acidic tongue in full force. He pointed at the tent. "Teyla's dying in there because she tripped. Did it to herself, did she?"

"It was a fair fight," Ronon growled back, stepping threateningly towards the smaller man. "Teyla knew what she was doing."

"Fair fight? Is that what that Valkyrie told you? Nonor cheated, Ronon! She—"

A hand shoved hard at the scientist's chest, sending McKay stumbling backwards again, and then Ronon was suddenly right in Rodney's face, staring down at him.

"My sister...doesn't cheat. She's a lot of things, but she doesn't cheat. She doesn't need to."

McKay drew up to his full height, almost standing on his toes as he met glare for glare, "You didn't see what I saw. Teyla was winning, but your sister—"

"No! Nonor doesn't cheat! My sister fought only to match her opponent. She told me it was the heat of battle that caused it to go as far as it did, and I believe her." He stepped even closer to McKay, chest to chest. "And so do the officials. They awarded her the winner of the contest."

"They're blind! They wanted her to win! They were cheering when she tried to beat Teyla to death!"

"Shut up!" Ronon yelled, shoving at McKay again. McKay staggered back again, then rushed forward, shoving hard at Ronon. Amazingly, it took the Satedan enough by surprise that he was forced back a step or two. McKay jabbed an accusing finger at him, his face bright red.

"I will NOT shut up! Your sister cheated! She nearly killed—"

The punch sent McKay flying, landing hard on his side, his jaw on fire where Ronon's fist had impacted.

"She's my sister!" Ronon yelled at him, fisted hand shaking. McKay just stared up at him from his position on the ground, breathing hard and touching his chin with a shaking hand. When he pulled it back, he saw blood on his fingers.

"And Teyla's my friend," McKay replied stubbornly, his voice trembling slightly as he stared up darkly at the man standing over him.

Ronon stared down at him for a moment, his expression moving from anger to confusion...and finally to sadness. Closing his eyes, the Satedan turned away, moving to stand several feet away from the scientist, his back to him.

Slowly, McKay got back to his feet, blinking dazedly a little and looking again at the blood on his hands.

The sound of the tent flap lifting turned his head in that direction, and he found Ronon by his side again, both of them barely breathing as first Sheppard, then Beckett emerged from the tent.

Sheppard didn't look at either of them. He just pushed past and walked as far as he could without being out of earshot, keeping his back to them.

McKay stared after his friend, his eyes widening. Then he turned back to Beckett, and the knot in his stomach nearly stopped his breath.

Beckett's eyes were downcast.

"There's...there's nothing I can do," the Scot said, his voice deep with misery. "Her wounds...even if I got her back to Atlantis right now, I couldn't..." he trailed off, and shook his head.

"Oh God," McKay whispered, staring past the Scot to the tent. Ronon seemed frozen to the spot next to him, completely unmoving.

"You...you might want to say your goodbyes now," Beckett added softly. "She doesn't have much time."

Rodney felt like he was choking. Couldn't breathe. This couldn't be happening. This could not be happening!

Beckett's blue eyes lifted, meeting Rodney's shocked ones, then shifted to Ronon's misery-filled ones.

"I am so sorry," he whispered, the pain in his voice plain.

"Wait!" Nonor's voice shouted, causing them all to turn. "Wait! Ronon!"

She was pushing through the milling crowd, her golden hair flying behind her. She was holding something in her hand—it appeared to be a small jar of salve. As a group, they turned to watch her approach. McKay hated her even more as she smiled brightly at them all. How could she be happy? He growled, and he felt Ronon's hand on his shoulder. Sheppard and Beckett, meanwhile, just watched as she arrived before them, almost breathless.

"Ronon!" She held the salve out, "I won this! Winning the sticks event made me the overall champion of Yedeenorog, and this was the prize! And, they wisely declared me champion of the running event, because I was obviously bound to win that as well. I will allow you to use this for Teyla!"

Dex looked momentarily confused, staring down at the jar in her hands.

"I'm sorry, lass," Beckett said, shaking his head at her. "I'm sure we appreciate—"

"Like hell," McKay muttered, glaring viciously at the woman.

"...the gesture," Beckett finished, shooting McKay a shushing look, "but I'm afraid—"

"You don't understand," Nonor said, pressing the jar into Ronon's hands. "Ronon, it is Alicorn Salve!"

"By the Ancestors...," Ronon gaped, his eyes widening as he stared down at the tiny jar. "Really?"

"It's what?" Beckett asked.

"Alicorn Salve," Nonor said, her brow furrowing as she looked at the strange healer. "The Oil of Eternity! The Liniment of Life! The Cure-all Cream!"

Beckett just blinked at her, then looked at Ronon. "It's what?"

Ronon suddenly came alive, turning and running into the tent, leaving them all behind. Beckett blinked some more, and then dashed in after him. By unspoken accord, McKay, Sheppard and Nonor quickly followed, pushing into the small area in time to see Ronon on his knees next to Teyla, spreading what looked like a whitish salve over the almost black bruise covering Teyla's abdomen, side and back.

"What are you..." Beckett started to say, getting on Teyla's other side, then his mouth fell open. "Oh my God," he gasped, watching as, everywhere the salve soaked into the skin...the purpling bruise immediately started to fade. "What the hell...?"

Ronon was already spreading more of the salve on Teyla's neck and head, where Nonor's blows had impacted the skull.

Cuts healed, bones knitted, bruises disappeared as the blood was reabsorbed...

"This is impossible," Beckett breathed. "Impossible."

Nonor just grinned, crossing her arms across her ample breasts, shaking her hair out. "I told you. I've saved her."

McKay flinched at that, and he turned to stare openly at the brazen woman.

And his eyes widened in the realization that Nonor didn't have a mark on her. The bruises, cuts and wounds Teyla had inflicted on the Satedan woman were also all gone. How...? He turned still wide eyes back to Teyla, and saw her skin too was once more nearly flawless. Oh my God...

When Ronon backed off, with the jar half-empty, Beckett was there, leaning over Teyla, checking her over. Hands prodded and poked, then he was pressing a stethoscope to her chest. The Athosian appeared to be sleeping...peacefully. Just like Nonor, not a mark on her.

McKay's eyes narrowed slightly. He wondered if the others realized that Nonor had used the salve on herself first, before offering it to Teyla. His opinion of her just dropped another notch.

Beckett finally backed off, shaking his head in obvious wonder. Then he looked up at the group. "I need to get her home. We need to leave. Now."

Nonor's face fell a little, and she looked at Ronon. "But..."

Ronon turned to look up at his sister, and she stared back, her blue eyes softening, filling with tears.

"But," she said again, "You just...we just..."

Ronon stared at her a moment longer, then shifted to look at Sheppard, standing between her and McKay.

"Can she come?" he said, his voice questioning. Nonor's eyebrows lifted, surprised. For the first time, she realized that Ronon was not in charge here. Her head snapped to the side, to look at the man on her right with an appraising look.

Sheppard stared back at Ronon, his jaw tense. He had no idea what to think right now.

Finally, slowly, he gave a nod.

McKay gave out a loud huff, and crossed his arms, clearly not happy. Ronon purposefully ignored the scientist, giving Sheppard a thankful nod.

"Okay," Beckett said, standing up. "Let's get her out of here."

TBC

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A/N: Something is definitely slithering up there. I don't like it. I think I'll get Julie down the hatch and see if she can do anything about it. JULIE! Get your udders down here! Mind the ladder!

A/N: GIVE ME REVIEWS! Or the chicken gets it! I am NOT kidding. She's pecked her last Genii!